The Glenwood Springs City Council convened for its first of two August meetings on Aug. 7. All council members were present, including six in-person and one attending remotely via Zoom. A late afternoon work session covered topics ranging from a community-led initiative to protect bees and other pollinators to issues with recycling collection in public parks and spaces. Council then tackled its regular meeting agenda beginning at 6:15pm.

Bennet Avenue resident Rachel Windh appeared before council to request the City paint lines to delineate parking spaces on the street. This would prevent large gaps between vehicles that can reduce available on-street parking for residents, she said. Council agreed it’s a good idea. 

Three topics related to housing were then presented and discussed.

Homelessness
The first was a report from West Mountain Regional Health Alliance (WMRHA) Executive Director Cristina Gair about their efforts to house the chronically unhoused population in the Glenwood Springs area. One of WMRHA’s initiatives is the Valley Alliance to End Homelessness, which was formed in partnership with Catholic Charities, Salvation Army and Recovery Resources, among others.

In 2021, they were successful in finding stable housing for 22 people who were struggling with housing security. In the years since, they’ve helped 400 people find housing, Gair reported. Some of that was accomplished through a regional grant to help provide emergency shelter and rental assistance. Those funds must be expended by September 2026, Gair said.

A second federal HUD grant has allowed the organization to secure eight rental units scattered around Glenwood Springs that are being used to transition those who struggle with housing security into more permanent housing, Gair reported. Through that effort, 65 individuals have been housed with assistance until they could go it on their own, she said. About 80-90% of those served by this program do not return for further assistance, she added, speaking to the program’s success. Most of those being served are not transient, she said, and have been living in the area from Glenwood Springs to Aspen for quite some time.

“One of the biggest challenges we face is cost of housing, and lack of inventory,” Gair said.

Workforce Housing
Next up was a joint meeting with the City’s appointed Workforce Housing Fund Advisory Board. The board was formed to oversee and advise on use of funds generated by a 2.5% lodging tax that was approved by voters (Question 2C) in 2022, and earmarked for affordable housing. That tax now brings in about $1.7 million per year. Since it went into effect in 2023, funds have been used to establish a pilot program to buy available properties for future housing projects, help the Mountain Mobile Home Park in West Glenwood become resident-owned and establish a down payment assistance program.

The latter was made possible by leveraging the City’s funding with a Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) grant, board chair Matt Spidell said. The board has established a goal to increase the number of affordable housing units in Glenwood Springs by 3%. Being able to leverage other available funding sources is key in meeting that goal, he said.

Council member Sumner Schachter urged the board to not take on too much at once, and to focus on what’s already working.That said, Schachter said he has growing concerns about mobile home parks in the region, namely the Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park near the CMC turnoff on Highway 82 that he fears is “slipping through the cracks” in its efforts to become resident-owned. 

The City’s affordable housing funds can only be spent on projects within city limits.

Council also addressed a City staff proposal to combine the housing fund board and the separate Housing Commission. Both boards address similar issues, but struggle to find enough volunteer members. Council agreed in concept but asked staff to report back after talking to the respective members for their input on how the two boards could operate as one.

ADU grant opportunity
Council then voted 5-2 on a resolution to go after a $150,000 DOLA grant to assist in the creation of more accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in Glenwood Springs. The grant, if awarded, would require a $37,500 match, explained Senior Planner Watkins Fulk-Gray. ADUs are smaller residential units that exist alongside a primary residence, either attached to the main dwelling, free-standing or oftentimes above a garage, he explained. ADUs are not allowed to be short-term rentals by the City’s code, which would be a requirement for obtaining the grant, he said. Since 2021, the City has permitted 20 new ADUs, including four free-standing, two over garages and the rest attached to the main dwelling. There’s a significant cost difference to build an attached unit ($22 per square foot) compared to a detached unit ($246 per square foot), so a focus if the grant were awarded could be to offset some of that cost, and to designate those units for local workforce housing, Fulk-Gray said.  Council members David Townsley and Ray Schmahl were opposed, saying it would be money better spent elsewhere.

“It seems we’re just buying into what Denver’s pushing, and spending our money to do it,” Schmahl said.

Council members Schachter, Steve Smith, Erin Zalinski, Mitchell Weimer and Mayor Marco Dehm all supported the resolution.

In other business…
Council heard an update on various public works projects around the city, including the Sixth Street/North Landing project. That work is slowing down now, with the final work wrapping up on the North Landing parkway area, City Engineer Ryan Gordon said. Council also voted unanimously to adopt a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan that was developed with help from consultants to address traffic and pedestrian safety concerns.